Pasta

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Stevie B

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Hi all

Recent new to the forum. Diagnosed type 2 early this January , still getting to grip with using Metformin and non / very low carb diet . Always enjoyed Italian food , can I continue to eat a small portion of pasta or do I leave out completely ?
 
Stevie B said:
Hi all

Recent new to the forum. Diagnosed type 2 early this January , still getting to grip with using Metformin and non / very low carb diet . Always enjoyed Italian food , can I continue to eat a small portion of pasta or do I leave out completely ?
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Normal pasta is one of the high carb foods which people tend to avoid but there are some alternatives which are non wheat based which are low carb. Black bean, edamame bean pasta are lowest. Don't over cook all they need is 3-5 mins.
 
Stevie B said:
Hi all

Recent new to the forum. Diagnosed type 2 early this January , still getting to grip with using Metformin and non / very low carb diet . Always enjoyed Italian food , can I continue to eat a small portion of pasta or do I leave out completely ?
Click to expand...
I'm still eating pasta but I've switched to red lentil pasta which, like the ones @Leadinglights has already mentioned, is a non-wheat pasta. Even then I generally only have a 40g portion, just under 10g carb uncooked. I've only ever seen it in penne form, though.
 
As an alternative to low-carb pasta, I bought a spiraliser so that I can make veggie noodles instead. Works a treat. My current favourites are courgette, carrot and sweet potato.
 
I have some Soya pasta that's quite nice.
I think I had some Mung bean pasta in the past(a).
I'm not a huge fan of pasta, so I don't miss it, but it's sometimes quite nice thrown into a daal.
 
littlevoice359 said:
As an alternative to low-carb pasta, I bought a spiraliser so that I can make veggie noodles instead. Works a treat. My current favourites are courgette, carrot and sweet potato.
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That’s a fantastic idea!! Pinching that :D
 
Dishevelled said:
Tesco do a red lentil fusilli at 31.1g carbs per 100. I make myself some of that and the rest of the family get "normal" pasta.
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That's barely any less than regular pasta, though. The wholewheat penne in our larder, that the rest of my family have, is 33.2g per 100.
 
Martin.A said:
That's barely any less than regular pasta, though. The wholewheat penne in our larder, that the rest of my family have, is 33.2g per 100.
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Cooked weight or raw weight @Martin.A ? Wholewheat pasta is usually around 76g carbs uncooked weight. I occasionally use red lentil pasta and it’s definitely lower in carbs.
 
To make a low carb lasagne use a big leek and chop off top and bottom then split it to make rectangles of pasta substitute. If left in hot water for a few minutes they will flatten out, then they should be drained off and the sauce should be dryer than normal as it will not be absorbed by the pasta layers, and the skinny leek middles can be added to the sauce
 
Drummer said:
To make a low carb lasagne use a big leek and chop off top and bottom then split it to make rectangles of pasta substitute. If left in hot water for a few minutes they will flatten out, then they should be drained off and the sauce should be dryer than normal as it will not be absorbed by the pasta layers, and the skinny leek middles can be added to the sauce
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I love that idea will give it a try, I don't like pasta but like the filling in Lasagna
 
Drummer said:
To make a low carb lasagne use a big leek and chop off top and bottom then split it to make rectangles of pasta substitute. If left in hot water for a few minutes they will flatten out, then they should be drained off and the sauce should be dryer than normal as it will not be absorbed by the pasta layers, and the skinny leek middles can be added to the sauce
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Thin slices of courgette (sliced lengthways) work well too.
 
There are some pasta brands that have a better carbohydrate count than others, like lentil pasta! I have also found Diet pasta made from konjac flour to be really helpful since they taste like pasta but have no carbohydrates.
 
Inka said:
Cooked weight or raw weight @Martin.A ? Wholewheat pasta is usually around 76g carbs uncooked weight. I occasionally use red lentil pasta and it’s definitely lower in carbs.
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Per 100g cooked, though what I thought was a part-packet of wholewheat penne was actually a pack of regular conchiglie. Should've gone to Specsavers. The wholewheat penne is 29.5g per 100g cooked.
 
I always go by raw weight @Martin.A I suspect the carbs quoted above might be comparing apples and oranges. When I tried red lentil pasta, I purposely had the same carb amount as I’d have for normal pasta and it weighed more and was more on my plate.
 
Hannah.amelia said:
There are some pasta brands that have a better carbohydrate count than others, like lentil pasta! I have also found Diet pasta made from konjac flour to be really helpful since they taste like pasta but have no carbohydrates.
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Not heard of konjac flour pasta but having had a browse it came up on some Keto sites. Pricey, though.
 
Another possibility that was suggested a few years back is to cook and cool normal pasta, and then reheat it - which apparently converts some of the carbohydrate to ‘resistant starch’ and slow the absorption.

You’d have to check how it suited you with a BG meter, of course, I guess?
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Another possibility that was suggested a few years back is to cook and cool normal pasta, and then reheat it - which apparently converts some of the carbohydrate to ‘resistant starch’ and slow the absorption.
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I read a piece by Michael Mosley recently in which he said he'd tried this and found it to be true. Details of the original experiment, for the TV show Trust Me I'm Doctor, are here as it happens:-

Carbs and cooking

Pasta, potatoes and rice... are all carbohydrates that cause a surge in blood glucose levels as they are broken down. For people with diabetes, these surges in glucose can be tricky to manage and cause problems over time. But what if simply changing the way these foods were prepared and cooked...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
Martin.A said:
I read a piece by Michael Mosley recently in which he said he'd tried this and found it to be true. Details of the original experiment, for the TV show Trust Me I'm Doctor, are here as it happens:-

Carbs and cooking

Pasta, potatoes and rice... are all carbohydrates that cause a surge in blood glucose levels as they are broken down. For people with diabetes, these surges in glucose can be tricky to manage and cause problems over time. But what if simply changing the way these foods were prepared and cooked...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link @Martin.A - I hadn’t realised the same effect happened when bread was frozen and then defrosted.

As it happens we’ve been freezing and defrosting bread out of convenience for a while now, and I think I have found it less challenging that it can sometimes be in terms of getting dose timing right.
 
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